Thanksgiving Day Dick Meighan 5k Run

What better way to celebrate Thanksgiving than with a brisk, hilly 5K run in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey??? It was a great day for the 10th Anniversary Dick Meighan Memorial 5K run.

It's especially great that Memorial Miling is turning into more and more of a family event. Before the run, we gathered, with about 1,500 other runners, in the school gymnasium. That's me, 2nd from the right, with my son TJ to my right, and his fiance, Kaitlyn, to my left. Kaitlyn's brother, Kevin, and his girlfriend, Jackie are on the left. Special thanks to my wife, Lisa for taking this picture!!!

I finished this hilly course in 26:11. That's not a world record, or anything, but last year I did it in 32:59!!! In addition to bringing attention to 9/11 Memorial fundraising, Memorial Miling is getting me into shape.

As of November 28, I have run at least two miles every single day since we kicked off Memorial Miles on September 11, 2008, for a grand total of 223 miles!! I hope to run every day until I have completed one mile for every one of our friends lost on February 26, 1993 and on September 11, 2001.

26th Annual Rockland County Alumni Run

26th ANNUAL BILL MARKIEWICZ

MEMORIAL ROCKLAND COUNTY

ALUMNI X-COUNTRY RUN (3.0 MILES)
THANKSGIVING SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2008
BEAR MOUNTAIN STATE PARK AT NOON

Memorial Milers participate in an annual tradition of insanity.

Paul with daughter Jill and sister Janet.

Rockland Alumni Cross Country Run: A Harrier Tradition.

(Adopted from 2001 article written by Jamie Kempton)

A Thanksgiving tradition dating back to 1983 continued on the hills and footpaths of Bear Mountain State Park the Saturday after Thanksgiving Day with the 26th running of the Rockland Alumni Cross Country Run/Bill Markiewicz Memorial. It is the only countywide alumni athletic event in Rockland.

The alumni harriers make their annual pilgrimage to Bear Mountain to tackle the 3-mile course that is used for high school competition. The race is held, rain or shine, at high noon on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Many people run cross country for the purity of the sport, and this event is a purist’s dream: no entry fee, no T-shirts, no awards, no frills.

What it does offer, however, is an opportunity to circle historic Hessian Lake (of Revolutionary War fame), ascend the infamous, steep “ski slope” (former site of world-class ski-jumping competitions), swing past the Bear Mountain Inn - a cornerstone hearth of the Palisades Interstate Park system - and finish the tour on the Great Lawn in front of the inn.The race is named in honor of Bill Markiewicz, a well-respected former cross country and track coach at Clarkstown North High School who died of cancer in 1991.

The event is open to alumni from high schools everywhere, not just those from Rockland County. Over the years the Alumni Run has attracted entrants whose high school affiliation spans more than 20 states and several countries.

Paul & Jill

November 14, 2008- Monthly Group Walk

Wow, another month has passed already, and on November 14, 2008, we had our monthly group walk in great Autumnal weather, about 62 degrees at the time of our walk!! It was also great to have a camera crew following us. They are working on a documentary, and followed our walk, filming and interviewing us. Hopefully, that will help to spread the word about the Memorial Miles program!! As a group, we have walked over 2,000 miles since the program started on September 11, 2008.

Malik, Jean Paul, and Alex get interviewed as we prepare to leave.

During our walk, we passed the New York City Police Memorial, a touching tribute to officers who have lost their lives throughout the history of New York City. It was the perfect place for us to stop for our group picture.

From left to right, Alex, Damian, Malik, Anita, Amadou (kneeling), Paul, Tom, Kamran, and Jean Paul keep the Memorial Miles spirit alive for another month!!!

During our walk, Malik quickly hooked up with a basketball game....SWISH!!!!

Clarelle and Anita got a little ahead of the group, enjoying the warm Autumn day along the Hudson River.

It was great to have the documentarians along with us this month- here Tom, Clarelle, and Jean Paul get interviewed about Memorial Miles.

Inaugural 5k Rockie's Benefit Race

Proceeds to benefit trail maintenance at the Rockefeller State Park Preserve
Saturday November 8 @ 8:30 am

Memorial Miler, Paul Pietropaolo ran in the Inaugural 5K "Rockie's" Benefit Race to help raise funds for trail maintenance at the Rockefeller State Park Preserve. The course started and ended at the intersection of Eagle Hill and Pocantico River Trails. It goes north (uphill switchbacks at the north end of 13 bridges) in one big loop to 13 bridges trail, then eventually that turns into Gory Brook Trail (flat to downhill), over the little wooden bridge then back over the stone arch bridge to home.

I'd say it was a tough start, fast stretch and a nice test over the final mile or so.

Memorial Milers Run the NYC Marathon!!!

On November 2, 2008 the New York City Marathon was held and two Memorial Milers, Jim Hanson and John Lynch (that’s me) went the distance. It was a beautiful day, sunny and cool, excellent running conditions for all of us “non-elite” runners.

NYC is the world’s largest marathon, with nearly 40,000 entrants this year, about one-quarter of which are from other nations.

The marathon distance is (always) 26.2 miles and the NYC Marathon takes runners through all five boroughs, starting in Staten Island, heading over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge to Brooklyn, through Queens, over the Queensboro Bridge to Mahnattan, up First Avenue and into the Bronx, and then back to Manhattan, down Fifth Avenue, and ending at Tavern on the Green in Central Park.

This year’s race was different as it was the first time the New York Road Runners instituted a “wave start.” This means they have different groups of runners start at different times – this year there were three groups and we were sorted by color. Runners with green bibs started at 9:40 AM, runners with blue bibs started at 10:00 AM and runners with orange bibs started at 10:20 AM. They did this to prevent overcrowding at the start and it worked very well. In past years you could wait 15 minutes to reach the starting line after the official gun went off, this year I made it to the line about one minute after my 10:00 AM start. What’s also nice is that using the electronic chip you tie to your sneaker, they send email updates every time you pass a checkpoint, which is great for friends and family so they know when to look for you on the course and can track how well you’re doing. This year, they tracked us every 3 miles through mile 16 and then every mile after that, which was really great, and a big upgrade from past years.

Jim Hanson has run more marathons than he can count and was excited that he was able to run this year for the first time with one of his three daughters. They ran the entire race together and had a great time. I’ve run the NYC marathon five times, and although this year wasn’t my personal best in terms of finishing, it was still a lot of fun. Traveling to the start is always an adventure – this year I took the subway to the Staten Island Ferry to a bus to the start, and everyone was friendly and a little bit nervous. Bottom line is, most runners do not do any training runs that are 26.2 miles long (my longest this year was 18, though I have done up to 21 miles before). So you know that, at some point in the race, you will be going farther than your longest training run, and if it’s your first marathon, then somewhere around mile 20, in the Bronx, you will be running farther than you’ve ever gone in your life!!! That, plus all the training and expectations, make for a nervous, exciting and ultimately exhilarating time before, during and after the race.

As always, the crowd support during each and every mile was phenomenal, which is what makes the NYC Marathon so special.

Finally, I was able to get all my Memorial Miles for the entire month of November finished in one day!!!!!